


The Big Bad Punisher Can Get Sick Too

by awwwhawkeyeno



Category: The Punisher (TV 2017)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Frank is sick and Karen takes care of him, Tumblr Prompt, soft frank
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-04
Updated: 2019-02-04
Packaged: 2019-10-22 02:34:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,162
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17654393
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/awwwhawkeyeno/pseuds/awwwhawkeyeno
Summary: “Hi Frank.” Karen added with a nod and a small smile. Sitting closer to him she could tell something wasn’t quite right with him, which worried her. He was wearing more layers than usual plus his face looked a bit pale.“You okay?” She asked with a concerned look on her face, her eyes flitting over his body checking for any obvious injuries or bleeding.“M’fine Karen, just got a bit of a cold.” Frank grumbled with his eyes down at his coffee. He sniffled.





	The Big Bad Punisher Can Get Sick Too

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by Frank-Kastle's prompt on tumblr. The idea got stuck in my head so I tried to write it down. I also wrote this in one sitting therefore there might be some mistakes.

The weather was finally getting colder in New York, much to Karen’s relief. She was sick and tired of sweating before she even got out of her apartment in the morning. But this change also meant that it got darker earlier and the days felt shorter. She found herself hanging up the light airy shirts that she loved wearing with her skirts and looking for her long-sleeved shirts and comfy cardigans. 

She thought about her outfit for the day while still lying in bed. The world was still quiet at 5:30 in the morning and everything was still dark. She also thought about Frank for a moment, about how he would be dealing with the changing weather when it came to being the punisher. Their relationship was still the same as it always had been – lingering on something else. The only good thing was that Frank kept a burner that he would text her on occasionally so that she knew he was alive and well. Her thoughts flicked back to the changing weather and finding something warm and cozy to wear for the day.

With a sigh she got up and flung the covers off of herself, immediately regretting the loss of warmth. She could already tell today was going to be a whole-pot-of-coffee kind of day. Before she got dressed, she turned on her coffee pot and started it. As she dressed the enticing smell of coffee wafted through the air. She drank her three cups of coffee and checked her emails on her laptop as she did every morning before heading into work. She packed up her laptop and some coffee to go and made her way to work for the day. 

****

Karen’s work day was irritating. It was barely lunch and she was already frustrated. All of the leads for her story had been flimsy at best and she knew that, so it wasn’t a huge surprise when they all didn’t pan out. Plus, people were coming in and out of her office constantly, not allowing her to get the work done that she wanted. She supposed that she could bring her work home (as if she didn’t do that regularly anyway) and really dig into the case she was working on. She sighed and looked out the window, she saw people hurrying on the streets outside as the wind blew, it looked like it might even snow soon. 

As Karen was lost in thought about the weather, her phone vibrated. She grabbed it from her desk without looking and unlocked it. She turned her head to look at her screen. A text from Frank, who she had as “Pete” in her phone (just in case). It said, “Coffee later?” Karen smiled and bit her lip as she looked at her phone, as if she could say no. She replied, “I get off at 6, meet me at our favourite coffee place :)” There wasn’t an answer so she just figured that he would meet her there – she knew Frank didn’t really like to text anyway. 

Her day dragged on, she didn’t get much work done. She was also thinking about Frank (as usual) and was looking forward to seeing him again. As the clock neared 5:30 she began to pack up her laptop and files that she would need to bring home with her. Ellison popped his head in the door as she was gathering her things.

“Are you actually leaving here at a semi-decent time?” He smirked but his eyes were soft, he was only teasing. 

Karen shrugged and smiled. “I got plans, Ellison.” She paused and looked up at him, “Also my day was shit, so I wanna get out of here.”

“There’s the truth,” Ellison replied with an easy smile, and then “Be safe Karen, and try and get some sleep. See you tomorrow.” 

Karen smiled at him and nodded her head. She wondered if she really looked that tired. Nonetheless, she was excited to see Frank for coffee, even if she did have a frustrating day. 

****

The bell above the door chimed as Karen walked into the coffeeshop, she spotted Frank sitting at a table in the back corner, he was facing the door. Their eyes met from across the shop and she smiled. Even though Frank’s hat was drawn low over his eyes, she could see the corner of his mouth turn up just the littlest bit. She made her way over to Frank and sat down across from him. There was already a steaming cup of coffee waiting for her, made just the way she liked it. 

“Ma’am.” He grumbled with a nod.

“Hi Frank.” Karen added with a nod and a small smile. Sitting closer to him she could tell something wasn’t quite right with him, which worried her. He was wearing more layers than usual plus his face looked a bit pale.

“You okay?” She asked with a concerned look on her face, her eyes flitting over his body checking for any obvious injuries or bleeding.

“M’fine Karen, just got a bit of a cold.” Frank grumbled with his eyes down at his coffee. He sniffled.

Karen giggled, “So the big bad Punisher does get sick like the rest of us, huh?” She found it ironic that he didn’t get sick often despite being injured near constantly. But she supposed since the weather was turning that a lot of people were beginning to get that dreaded sniffle. As she takes the first sip of her coffee, she hears Frank grumbling into his coffee cup.

“What was that? She says with a smirk as she lowers down her cup and leans across the table closer to Frank.

Frank looks up at her, “Nothing.” And sniffles again. 

Karen reaches out and touches his hand not on the coffee cup, it’s warm and sweaty. Frank flinches just the tiniest bit but doesn’t move his hand away.

“Want to come back to my place after?” She says while looking at their hands. Karen realises that she missed Frank more than she thought and maybe, just maybe she wants to take care of him for once. 

Frank’s eyes move between their intertwined hands to her face. He stays silent for a moment, contemplating her offer. “Sure, thanks.” He says quietly. 

They finish their coffees in silence, but it’s comfortable. Karen knows that there are days Frank just needs to be around other people, days where he won’t talk much and just watch. There are other days where he asks to come to her place so that they can talk. Karen suspects he gets lonely, but then so does she from time to time. They pay for their drinks and head back to Karen’s apartment.

On the way there, Frank sneezes three times and sniffles the whole way. Each sneeze brings a grumpier look to his face and Karen finds it adorable (and the tiniest bit hilarious)

****

Karen unlocks her door and Frank enters behind her. She takes of her jacket and hangs it up and watches Frank do the same. She notices that his movements are different – slower and almost painful looking. She wonders if he feels worse than he is letting on.

Frank makes a beeline for the couch and sits down. He finds Karen’s favourite fuzzy blanket folded on top of the couch and wraps it around himself. He sighs in relief. 

Karen watches him carefully and says, “I’ll put on some tea, it’ll help you feel better.”

Frank groans and folds his legs up on the couch, so he is sitting cross-legged, he nods to Karen and turns her tv on, with the volume on low. Karen busies herself with turning the kettle on and putting some honey in his mug and a tea bag into her favourite mug. She then heads to her bedroom to change into something more comfortable. She decides on yoga pants and a sweater that’s too big for her. Just as she puts her sweater on, she hears the kettle go off. She pours the hot water into the two mugs and heads over to sit beside Frank on the couch. 

She notices that he’s shivering as she hands him the mug of honey and hot water. His nose scrunches up when she hands it to him. She sets her mug down and goes to the closet to get him another blanket to wrap around himself. 

She walks back into her living room and sees Frank’s nose scrunch as he takes a sip of the tea. She smiles because it’s the first time she’s ever seen him drink something other than coffee. As she drapes the blanket around him, she looks at him with concern once more.

Frank is still trying to pretend to be paying more attention to the tv instead of watching Karen. He’s worried that she will think he watches her too much. He turns to look at her, and she’s already looking at him.

“You okay?” She asks for the second time that night.

“It’s just a cold ma’am. Been through much worse before” he says while lifting the mug closer to his face. His nose scrunches again just before he takes another sip. 

Karen thinks he’s adorable like this. He seems softer, and more at peace. She thinks that maybe he wanted to spend time with her, despite being sick. That maybe he enjoys being around her as much as she does being around him. She takes a breath and pushes her feelings back down as she takes a sip of her tea. She shifts closer to Frank, but this time he doesn’t flinch.

He still has the two blankets wrapped around him, he cracks a smile at Karen. “Alright, alright.” She says with a small smile of her own. 

They are still looking at each other, and the longer they do, the harder it is to break eye contact. They get stuck in moments like this sometimes – where they sit just a bit too close and stare just a bit too much into each other’s eyes. Karen wonders if this unspoken thing will ever change between them. She wonders what Frank thinks.

Frank breaks the moment by clearing his throat and turning back towards the tv. Karen moves closer to Frank anyway. 

****

As the evening goes on, Frank keeps watching tv while Karen works on her article. She is still stuck, even after another two hours trying to find a new angle. It’s nearing 9 pm when she closes her laptop with a sigh. She looks over at Frank who somehow looks worse. He’s still wrapped in those blankets, but she can tell from here that he’s running a fever. She gets up from the couch and gets him two Tylenol and a glass of water. When she comes back, he’s watching her but doesn’t say anything as he holds his hand open. 

“Take these please, they’ll help with your fever”. She says as she places them into his open hand. 

He pops them into his mouth, and she hands him the glass of water. Karen sits back down as he finishes swallowing the pills. She makes the executive decision that Frank needs something more than just pills to bring his fever down. She thinks he looks sleepy enough to be able to coax him to lay his head in her lap.

“Frank, you can lay down if you want,” is what she starts off with to get his attention. He turns to look at her with confusion in his eyes. Karen pats her lap, hopefully queuing him into what she is trying to say without words.

“M’fine Karen, thanks.” He says quietly.

“Frank.” She says in a firm voice. 

There’s a moment of silence where they are just looking at each other, daring each other to say something. Frank sighs and puts down the glass of water. Karen smiles because she knows that she won this round. Frank unwraps the blankets from around his shoulders and lays his head down on Karen’s lap. He takes a minute to cover himself up with the blankets and adjust his head.

Karen’s hands drift towards his hair and start threading through the short strands on the top of his head. She runs her hand through his hair absent mindedly while she turns her attention to the tv. She hears Frank take in a deep breath, let it out and then she feels him relax. 

Within minutes he falls asleep. Karen notices how his breathing changes. She looks at his face when he sleeps, he looks so peaceful.

She whispers a quiet, “Good night, Frank” as she smiles and turns her attention back to the tv once more. Karen is grateful for these moments she gets to spend with Frank, grateful that he is here with her and is able to be a peace for more than a moment or two.

All in all, it’s a good ending to her generally shitty day.


End file.
